A good mentor gives sight to artists

I'm a fan of getting instruction from someone that I respect. In my experience a person can get pretty far on their own if they want to learn to draw. But, there is nothing like having an artist whose work you respect look at your work and tell you what you can do to improve. It's worth the money or time it takes to get that kind of feedback.

So here's an example: I was in a drawing session last night at The Bridge Academy in Provo, Utah. We were drawing from the live figure. Jeff Hein was the instructor and since I was new to the class he asked that I just draw the best drawing I could in that session. At the end of the session he comes over and stands in front of my work and then there is an amazing thing that happens. Before he even says a word, I can instantly see several things that are incorrect with my drawing. The same thing would happen at AnimatonMentor.com. When we show our work to peers we respect or teachers we respect, we get to see our work from a new perspective.. as if we are looking through their eyes.

The more we can get that type of feedback and fix problems in our work, the faster we can come to see the same things that our mentors see. In effect, see with their eyes. If you don't have a mentor to show you how to see, it's very easy to get lost in technical artistic issues. You will most likely go round and round on issues without finding real resolution to your concerns. My recommendation. If you ever want to learn something. Find someone who is very good at what you want to do. Someone whose opinion you respect. Allow them to mentor you if they are willing to do so.